The Persimmon Grill at Lake Valley Golf Club
The highest compliment I can pay Lake Valley Golf Club is that the 50-year-old private course puts on no airs, and that ethos carries over into the Persimmon Grill, which serves the public as well as members. The output of some previous kitchen regimes might have ranged from lousy to over-the-top, but now Chef Paul Stoltz—who did turns in the kitchens at Hotel Boulderado and Red Rocks Country Club—has got the food service dialed in. At the Persimmon Grill, he offers his own take on casual full-service dining with Food & Beverage Manager John Waida’s watchful eyes on the front of house.
Anyone wanting a hearty meal and a little taste of home can start with the “Classics” on the left side of the menu. Chef Paul makes robust, creative comfort food: Chicken Parmesan, Meatloaf and the Lake Valley Reuben—curing his own corned beef and marinating the warm cabbage slaw. He smokes the Babyback Ribs as well, and his tasty twist on Shrimp & Grits features Italian grits, a coarsely ground, hard flint corn.
Chef Paul gets to be even more creative on the right side of the menu, where the flavor and visual sensation of his entrees— all in $16-$18 range—carry the day. My party of four shared the Osso Buco Chanterelle, which came braised and finished with a rich demi-glace with chanterelle mushrooms, served with a creamy Parmesan risotto, long, tender stalks of broccolini and crispy pancetta and gremolada; and the moist and juicy center-cut Cider Braised Pork Loin Chop topped with a spiced cider sauce and crunchy onion straws. Equally delicious was the roasted Cornish Game Hen; eating that type of bird can be somewhat laborintensive, but this was de-boned and stuffed with savory corn bread, plus the achiote spice in the orange glaze imparted a vivid, brick color. And a red pepper-rubbed Pacific Sea Bass— seared hard in a pan, topped with a grilled scallion and a ginger-infused Buerre Blanc, the classic French butter sauce—was lovely.
An informal poll of other diners revealed raves for the Boursin cream sauce dressing up the New York Strip. The Beef Thai Noodle was named best salad—tender steak off the grill, served over sweet Thai chili rice noodles and mixed greens with carrot, cucumber, red bell pepper, scallion and peanut vinaigrette. We washed it all down with a Dora Paula malbec, the hot grape variety from Argentina.
The key to dessert was thoughtful portion choices for only $4—Bailey’s Irish cream cheesecake with chocolate crust and fresh, homemade Kahlúa whipped cream, or a raisin-and-walnut bread pudding. I couldn’t pass either one on this course (“Mind if I eat through?”). It was unfortunately too cold to dine on the deck—which sports Boulder County’s best view of the Flatirons, bar none—but the warm and inviting interior of the restaurant provided the perfect ambience for a faultless wintery dining experience. Much like the wood from which clubs were once made and the restaurant takes its name, the Persimmon Grill finds the sweet spot every time.
4400 Lake Valley Drive, Niwot; 303-444-2114 ext. 21; lakevalley.com
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